REMEMBER ROBIN Extra: The Interview
by SladinForever
Summary: REMEMBER ROBIN Extra —Set after RR4 and before RR6— Explaining the truth is never easy, especially when telling almost seven billion people, all at the same time. For Robin, this would be his hardest challenge yet in a live interview for all to see…
1. Live Interview Intro

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Titans, Justice League, or Young Justice characters—they are mentioned—nor am I making any money off fics. Any OCs mentioned belong to me and their respected owners

This is a drabble set after REMEMBER ROBIN book 4 and before book 6, which would've been a season 4 rewrite. After being cooped up in Titans Tower for months, Robin decides to tell his side of the story of what he went through under Slade's thumb on live television. So he gets a special interview with Anderson Cooper—because I like to use real life people in fics sometimes. Plus, Anderson is an awesome guy/reporter—explaining everything. I hope you like this concept!

**SladinForever**

* * *

"Hey, Robin, are you ready to go?"

It was a cold, rainy morning in Jump City, California. Standing in front of the giant windows of Titans Tower, Robin stared at the city through the rain splattered glass. Red, his about-damn-time husband, stood a few feet behind him, wearing a black, hooded jacket and blue jeans. Robin wore black denim jeans and a plain red t-shirt. His hair was spiked, but shorter than he usually had it. He no longer had a slight point in the back either. It was now much softer and shinier than it had been in years. Closing his eyes, Robin inhaled deeply, held it for three seconds, and then let it out. He turned around to face Red, who had Robin's red hooded sweatshirt dangling from his left hand. He walked towards him.

"Yeah."

When Robin reached him, Red handed him his jacket. Robin slipped it on over his shirt, zipped it up until it reached a couple of inches from his collarbones, and then carefully pulled it on over his hair, to keep his hair looking nice. Red smiled.

"How was I so lucky to have such a cute man like you?"

Robin gave a playful snort. "Cute? You're going to have to come up with better adjectives than that, handsome."

Placing his hands on Robin's hips, Red leaned his face in closer. "But you _are_ cute." Red kissed Robin gently on the lips. "You're just going to have to deal with it."

Robin playfully punched his husband in the chest before kissing back harder. "Fine."

They kissed a few more times before Red turned around while grabbing Robin's hand. They then headed for the elevator that reached all the way to the garage located underneath the island, where the other Titans were waiting. Red pushed the down arrow button. They waited five seconds before the doors opened. They stepped inside and turned around. Red pushed the garage button. The doors closed and they descended.

In the garage, Changeling, Starfire, and Raven were standing by the car. Cyborg was in the driver's seat, checking to make sure the T-car was in mint working condition. Changeling glanced between the two girls a few times, looking nervous.

"Are you sure Robin should be doing this?"

Raven looked at him. "It doesn't matter if I think he should or not. Robin has decided to tell his story. He wants people to understand why he killed so many people. Maybe it has to do with wanting closure; maybe he's willing to fully accept what happened to him; I don't know. But as far as I'm concerned, Robin is being very brave telling the entire world about what he and his victims went through. So we have to support him in his decision." Raven walked over to one of the back doors. "You don't have to come with us to LA if you're so worried about it. Just make sure you watch the interview while it's live. Robin wants that more than anything from all of us."

Opening the door, Raven got in. Changeling scowled at her. "I wasn't _not _gonna come, Rae, sheesh!"

"Changeling, its okay." Looking over, Changeling and Starfire saw Red and Robin stop a few feet from them. Robin smiled at him. "I understand your concern for me. I'm actually happy that you're questioning if I'm ready or not. I'm not a hundred percent sure if I am, but, for the most part, I'm ready to go out there and show myself to all those people I wronged and hurt." After a few seconds of staring, Changeling nodded. "Okay, let's go before we're late. We need to be there by two."

"Okay."

Going to the other back door, Starfire opened it and got in, sitting in the center of the back seat. Coming in after her, Changeling turned into a scruffy puppy and jumped in. He got in Starfire's lap, sitting down. Red gave Robin one more kiss before going to the door and getting into the last seat. Robin, meanwhile, opened the passenger door and sidled in. Cyborg already had his hands on the wheel, waiting for everyone to get their seat belts on.

"Everyone ready to go? Any bathroom breaks before we leave?" When no one said anything, Cyborg put the T-car in reverse, backed up while turning the car to the right, and braked. He then put the car into drive and pushed gently on the gas. "Alright y'all, let's get Robin to the studio. I'd like to be there by one or one-thirty."

"With your driving, it won't take us very long," Raven muttered.

Cyborg glared at her out of the rear view mirror. "Ha, ha."

As they neared the end of the garage, Cyborg pressed a button above their heads. The door into the tunnel began to rise into the rock ceiling. Once it was all the way open, he picked up some speed, zooming into the long tunnel underneath the bay. Everyone was silent as they made their way through the dimly lit tunnel. Robin stared out his window, feeling something stir inside of him. He wouldn't say he felt great, but he wasn't bad either. The worst he was feeling was nervousness about today. In just a few hours, he would tell the entire world—that was watching—his life story. Soon, the almost seven billion people would find out the truth about his life as a murderer. That itself was the scariest thing to admit to.

"You gonna be okay, Rob?"

Coming out of his thoughts, Robin lifted his head from his fist and looked at Cyborg. He hadn't noticed that they were already nearing the bridge out of the city. Robin lowered his arm from the hand rest of the door and turned slightly in Cyborg's direction to see him better and without putting strain on his neck.

"I think so. I think once the interview starts I'll feel more relieved. I'll stop being nervous in no time."

Cyborg smiled. "That's good to hear, man. And we'll be in the audience for moral support."

"I know."

Turning back, Changeling leaned over the middle console, sitting on Starfire's knees. "Will Terra be there? I know the Justice League will be."

Robin glanced at him. "She e-mailed me last night saying she'd watch it on the TV. She can't afford to come down here right now. Plus, she has a job to maintain. She'll visit once she has money and free time, she said."

"Okie-dokie."

Changeling turned back into a puppy and laid down on Starfire's legs. She began to pet him from his forehead down to the end of his back. Robin looked out the windshield and took a deep breath. For most of the ride to Los Angeles everything was quiet except for the rain hitting the car and the other vehicles driving by. Raven was reading a mystery novel to pass the time. Red was on a cell phone, asking his employees if they were ready to watch the interview at two via text message. Starfire was looking at Robin from the rear view mirror. Changeling had fallen asleep on her lap, curled up in a ball, forty minutes ago.

"Will we have the tissues, in case of tears?" Starfire suddenly blurted. "I do not wish to cry during the sad moments, but just in case."

"I have plenty of tissue boxes in my chest container, Star," Cyborg answered. "And you can bury your face in my arm so no one has to see."

Starfire's face lit up. "Oh thank you, Cyborg! We are prepared then!"

Red smiled big in amusement as he shook his head. For the rest of the ride, no one talked. Since it was the afternoon, the traffic was backed up along the highway. Luckily they had reached the twenty mile mark a few minutes ago. Almost another hour later, they were nearing the off-ramp that led into LA. The closer the were to the studio, the more nervous Robin became. Very soon he would be revealing several years worth of his life to the entire world.

It took ten minutes to reach the large LA studio where the interview would be taking place. There were hundreds of cars in the parking lot, probably to see the interview on the giant screen outside. Rather than find a place in the possibly already filled parking lot, Cyborg drove around to the back of the building. People were walking around, including workers with headsets and clipboards and news reporters that would be broadcasting. Cyborg drove on until he found an open space for the T-car. When he was parked, he turned off the engine and pulled the key out of the ignition. Everyone stared out and watched the people for a bit. After a minute, Robin sighed and then unbuckled his seat belt.

"Alright, let's get inside before I completely change my mind."

With nods, everyone unbuckled their seat belts and got out of the car. Changeling jumped onto the seat, walked to the edge, and then jumped out of the car before changing back into a human. Grabbing the front door handle, Red opened Robin's door and held his hand out. Robin stared at it for a moment before grabbing it and allowing his husband to pull him out. Red quickly wrapped his arm around Robin's shoulders.

"You'll do just fine," he whispered in his ear.

Red kissed his cheek before they headed for the back doors into the studio. People had stopped to look at who had arrived. Some recognized Robin immediately because of news coverage from almost ten months previous. Workers came up to direct them on where to go. It was very cool inside the building, but not too cold. The team was directed towards a few make-up stands with mirrors. The others stayed back while Robin made it to the front. Red released him and stepped back. From another section, the man that would be interviewing Robin came up, talking to one of his co-workers, while slipping an earpiece into his ear.

"Inform the cameramen that Richard Grayson has arrived."

"Will do, Anderson."

Turning, the man walked away, speaking into a walkie-talkie. Anderson Cooper of AC360 on CNN slipped the earpiece receiver box onto his belt of his left hip, pulled his black business jacket over it, and then stood up straight. Smiling softly, he stopped in front of Robin and held out his hand.

"Its nice to finally meet you, Mr. Grayson."

Robin shook Anderson's hand, smiling weakly. "Please, call me Robin or Richard." The handshake ended. "Thanks for doing this interview with me. No one else would, so I'm grateful."

"No, it is my pleasure," Anderson said with a neutral face. "I believe everyone deserves a chance to have their voices heard. How are you feeling?"

Robin rubbed the back of his head. "I'm nervous, to be honest."

"I would be a little concerned if you weren't. From the questions I looked over the last few days, even _I'm_ a little nervous. The photos you sent the crew didn't help matters much either. Before we reveal them part way into the interview, I will inform those with children that they should advert their eyes due to their graphic nature."

Robin gave a nod. "Sounds like a good idea."

"Normally we would censor disturbing content, but we were given permission to show every bit of photo," Anderson explained. "…Okay, so, in a few minutes, you and I will get on the stage and sit in our seats. The camera will be on me as I give an introduction. Then the camera will pan out to both of us. There will be a twenty minute intermission halfway through. We discussed the possibility of allowing viewers to tweet during the program…?"

Robin nodded. "Viewers can do whatever they want. I will be willing to answer some questions anyone has, negative or otherwise, also."

"Okay, I will add that to the introduction. We'll put up tweets on air at some point," Anderson added. "If all goes smoothly, the interview will be over within a few hours. CNN has organized a dinner for your family and friends after. We made reservations at a pizza parlor not far from here."

Robin smiled. "Sounds good."

Anderson smiled. "Good. Now, if you need to, go ahead and get cleaned up. Make-up is over there. Your friends have a front row seat. And I will see _you_," Anderson added, pointing at Robin, "on stage."

With an encouraging squeeze to Robin's shoulder, Anderson walked around him and headed for a cameraman for CNN. Robin turned, thinking of something to add.

"Hey, Anderson?"

Stopping, Anderson turned sideways. "Yeah."

Robin gave him a small smile. "How's Ben and Molly?"

Anderson blinked at the question. He soon smiled. "They're doing just fine."

Robin chuckled softly. "I'm glad." Anderson turned back around and continued walking. Red and the Titans came up alongside Robin once they were alone. Red gave him an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder. Robin turned around to face them fully. "I'm going to have make-up put on. Why don't you find your seats?"

"Alright."

"Sounds good."

"We will see you soon, friend Robin!"

The Titans turned around and headed for the doors that led into the audience section of the studio. Stepping closer, Red carefully pulled Robin's hood off and saw his face more clearly. Uncertainty was in his baby blue eyes.

"You're going to do just fine," Red said softly, adjusting his zipper. "We'll be right in front of you." Red ran his hands across Robin's shoulders, straightening the fabric. "Just remember, don't think about the fact that people are watching. Pretend its just you and Anderson Cooper talking, okay?"

Robin smiled weakly at him. "Thanks."

Smiling, Red gave him a quick kiss. "See you out there."

Turning, he headed for the doors, leaving Robin standing worriedly and alone. He took a deep breath again, turned, and then walked towards the make-up stands. An average-looking woman with long red hair in a bun, wearing a headset, and holding a face cover up compact heard him approach and then saw him in the mirror. She turned around, smiling wide.

"Mr. Grayson?"

Robin stopped in front of her, smiling. "Yes."

She held her hand out to him. "It's very nice to finally meet you." Robin shook her hand briefly. "Do you want anything else done with your hair or anything?"

"My hair is fine, but if you can make my face look a little more human, that would be wonderful," Robin answered.

The woman chuckled. "I'll be glad to put some red in those cheeks." She indicated a stool with her hand. "Please sit." Nodding, Robin walked past her, pulled out the stool, and sat down. The woman came around to the front, dragging a cheek brush into one of the darker flesh colors. Robin sat absolutely still as she applied the make-up to his face. "Are you nervous?" she asked a minute later.

She was now applying some red to his cheeks, forehead, and chin as Robin said, "A little. But my husband gave me some good advice a couple of minutes ago."

"That's good." The woman closed the compact, put it and the brush down, and then grabbed another compact and a sponge stick. "Lightly close your eyes for me." Robin did so. After a few seconds, he felt the pressure of the sponge against his eyelids and eyebrows. It didn't take long for the woman to finish. "Done." Opening his eyes, Robin looked in the mirror and was satisfied with what he saw. He didn't look so pale now. "I wish you luck, Mr. Grayson."

Standing up, Robin gave her a smile. "Thank you. And you can call me Robin."

The woman smiled again. "You're welcome, Robin."

With a small wave, Robin walked back the way he came and found Anderson talking to someone with a headset. Robin stopped close-by and waited.

"Please make sure there's plenty of water on stage. I want Robin as comfortable as possible."

"Yes Anderson."

The man walked off, talking into his headset. Anderson checked again to make sure his earpiece was fitted properly while turning in Robin's direction. When it was fixed, he rubbed his hands together.

"Okay, the interview will be live in ten minutes. Are you ready to take your seat on stage?" Robin nodded. Anderson patted his shoulder. "Okay, let's go then."

Turning, Anderson headed for the stage doors, Robin following him. A stage worker opened the door for them when they arrived. They had to step up slightly to enter the stage. The door closed behind them as they made their way for the two comfortable chairs in the center of the stage. The lights were bright enough to be bearable on the eyes. When Robin came into view, he heard people start to clap and whistle from the audience seats. Looking over, he saw The Titans and Red in the front and between broadcasting cameras. Directly behind them was Titans East and Red and Robin's friends from Pizza Palace. Then, behind them in a few rows, were members of the Justice League and Young Justice, which included Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Hawkman and Woman, Clark, Superdog, Superboy, Kid Flash, Flash, and everyone else that Robin knew and was friends with. Robin was also surprised to see Jinx sitting among them. When she saw him staring, she waved gently. Smiling at them all for coming, Robin sat down and gave a thumbs up in acknowledgment. It didn't take long for everyone to quiet down. Anderson laughed softly from his chair.

"I never thought I would get to see so many super heroes in one room. Its really remarkable."

"I didn't expect almost everyone to come, to be honest," Robin said. A few water bottles were placed on a table, mostly out of camera-shot. "Green Lantern is missing, for example."

"That I noticed," Anderson said. "I see Clark Kent up there. I've spoken to him before about the news; very nice man. Though, everyone now knows that he's Superman." Robin just nodded. The cameramen started to file out of the back to their cameras. Someone came up to Anderson and spoke quietly to him. "Yes, we're ready up here. …He's fine, just a little nervous. …Yeah. …Okay." With a nod to him, the man walked away, speaking into a headset. Anderson turned back to Robin, who took a sip of water. "We will go live in five minutes. Are you ready?"

Robin inhaled silently. "Yeah."

At fifteen seconds to two o'clock in the afternoon, everyone was ready to broadcast the interview. Robin decided to roll up his sleeves at the last second. He sat comfortably in the chair, keeping one leg up on his knee. In the monitor room, a man spoke into a headpiece, which transmitted to Anderson's earpiece. He started the countdown at five…four…three…two…one…


	2. Live Interview Part 2

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1

On millions of television monitors and on every news station in the world, an opening appeared on screen. There was a header that read: LIVE INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE with **ANDERSON COOPER**. The words were centered, with Anderson's name underneath the first line. There was random images in the background, which included news logos and faded words. There was also whooshing music as the header had zoomed in from the left side. Seconds later, the title flew in underneath the header that read: **The Tragic Story** that **Changed** the **World** and the **Boy Who Survived It**. The title stayed on screen for a few more seconds before fading away, to reveal a close-up of Anderson Cooper.

"Good afternoon, I am Anderson Cooper. I will be your host for this live exclusive interview." Anderson turned slightly to the right to face Robin, but kept his eyes on the camera. "My guest is Richard Grayson, who also goes by the name of Robin, a young man who decided to come out and speak to the world about his tragic story of pain, lies, destruction, and death. The human race knows his name and his story. But do they know all the facts? Until today, no. That's what this interview is about. Today, Robin has decided to explain his side of the story; to present to you the facts of what he has gone through these last four, hard years." As Anderson looked at Robin, the camera panned out to reveal them both. "Robin, I thank you for coming out with us today. I expect it isn't very easy, given the circumstances."

Robin smiled softly. "Thank you, Anderson. And yeah, it was a difficult decision to make. To be quite honest with everyone, I almost didn't want to show my face ever again, especially after all the horrendous things I was forced to do for three and a half years. But I was given courage from my family and friends that had to deal with what happened to step back into the light. This interview isn't just for my benefit, but for the people I hurt. There are families of my victims who are in pain because of what happened. Not only do I want to tell my story, but I also want to apologize to the world. I can't fully heal until that happens. So I broke out of the darkness to do just that. Before I address those families and friends, I want to tell my half of the story, including what I did, what I went through, and how I'm coping with it now that it's been long over."

Anderson looked back at the camera. "Before we begin, in ten minutes, we will open Twitter feeds, so you may Tweet during the interview, under the hash tag RichardRobinGrayson. We will not show them on screen until much later in the program. Also, sometime around a twenty minute intermission, I will reveal a few graphic photos that may be unsuitable for young children. There will be a forewarning before the photos are shown, to give parents enough time to remove their children or hide their eyes from the screen. I will be asking Robin a few specific questions as well." After a pause, Anderson turned back to him. "It would be a good idea for you to tell the world who you are before we get into the darker information. So who exactly _is_ Richard Grayson?"

Robin took a moment to answer. "Well first off, I was born and raised in a famous circus called Haley's Circus. My parents were trapeze artists for many years before I was born. When I was three, I started learning how to do the same tricks and feats they did. I was lucky to be as flexible as my parents. They supported me every step of the way."

"Who exactly were your parents?"

Lowering his leg, Robin leaned a few inches forward, his hands on his thighs and his gaze to the floor. "My parents were John and Mary Grayson. They were best known as The Flying Graysons." Robin sat back up straight to look at Anderson. "It was my mother, Mary, who gave me the nickname Robin. I was born in the spring and could fly just like a bird. My mother was of Gypsy heritage and robins were a sign of strength, hope, and love. The circus uniforms we wore were red, so that contributed to the name as well."

Anderson kept a neutral face the whole time, even as he asked his next question. "What happened to them?"

Robin's eyes narrowed. He could remember that day as if it were yesterday. It took him a few seconds to respond. "When I was eight, my parents had to do their act without a safety net. I couldn't join them, so I stood at the sidelines, watching. Earlier that day, I had overheard the circus owner, Haley, talking to a mobster, who did most of his business in Gotham, New Jersey. He told Haley that if my parents didn't pay protection money, then something bad might _accidentally_ happen to them. I tried to warn my parents not to perform, but they wouldn't listen to me." Robin suddenly ran his hand through his hair. "I was only eight years old when my parents were murdered in cold blood. That had been the first worst day of my life." There was a pause. Robin shook his head lightly, to relax. "My parents' killer got away with his crime and I was left orphaned. Being just eight, I didn't know what would happen or what I had to do. All I knew was that my loving parents were no longer there, to protect and love me. I thought there was nothing left for me anymore."

There was another, longer pause.

"Instead, something good happened, didn't it?" Anderson asked weakly.

Robin smiled a little. "Yeah, I lost one father, but gained another. Bruce Wayne of Gotham was there that night for a charity benefit and had seen my parents fall to their deaths. Bruce had lost his parents when he was about ten, so he understood the pain, sadness, and emptiness I felt from losing the two people that I really loved. It only took a few days for the adoption to go through. Bruce had become my third family."

"It must have felt good knowing someone cared, didn't it?"

"Heh, yeah. I thought the world had turned completely against me that night, but Bruce proved me wrong. My first year at his home, famously known as Wayne Manor, had been difficult, at first. I was very distant, would hardly come out of my new room—that sort of thing had been foreign to me at the time—and cried a lot, wanting my parents back. Our butler, who became my good friend, was Alfred Pennyworth, and he was like the grandfather I never had. He was really caring and kind. Bruce was fairly busy all throughout the year, so Alfred raised me and comforted me when I was upset. He even gave me a stuffed bat to sleep with. I slept with that bat for at least three years. I liked to think he ate all the bad dreams when I slept."

Anderson chuckled softly. "He seemed like a good friend."

Robin smiled. "Yeah, he was. I still have him actually. I keep him safe in a box in my room back at Titans Tower. Anyway, as everyone learned almost a year ago, my guardian was the vigilante Batman of Gotham. I first discovered his base of operations at age ten by accident. The Batcave was located right under Wayne Manor. I was in his library, trying to get a book down, when I pulled a book, which was actually a lever, that opened the bookcase. I was actually fairly smart for my age, so I connected a lot of dots. Sometimes at night, Bruce would be gone for hours at a time, which I wasn't very concerned about at the time. I just thought, being a billionaire of Wayne Enterprises, that he worked late nights sometimes. When I had gone down into the Batcave, a voice greeted me as Mr. Wayne." Robin suddenly laughed. "I was shocked for a moment, and then I figured it out within seconds what it all meant. My father, one of the biggest Playboys in the world, was the famous Batman! At first I thought it was a cruel joke, but, the more I began to realize, I learned that it wasn't. Alfred had found me sneaking around the Batcave within minutes."

"Was he angry or upset at what you did?" Anderson asked.

Robin shook his head. "No, Al was more relieved than anything."

"How come?"

Robin scratched his temple. "He hated keeping such a secret from me, but he couldn't say anything. So he was glad I found the Batcave. That meant he could talk to me about it when, before, he couldn't. When Bruce came home, we told him what happened. He was a little upset, but Alfred convinced him it would be okay. That day, I asked Bruce if I could help him fight crime and to maybe, one day, find my parents' killer, and make him pay."

Anderson shifted in his seat. "And did he?"

Robin sighed. "Eventually, yeah, but not in a way I was expecting."

Anderson titled his head ever so slightly. "What happened?"

Robin quickly scratched his forehead before shifting in his seat to get comfortable again. "Bruce taught me that revenge was never a solution to anything. Killing the man that killed my parents would not bring them back. It took me a while to understand and accept that concept. Unfortunately, that life lesson didn't stick with me. Last year, I went looking for their killer at one of his secret apartments in Gotham. He had raped and stabbed a woman repeatedly not long before I arrived, and that really cut me deeply. I was utterly broken at this point in my life, so I continued looking for him. When I finally caught up with him, I sliced my parents' initials into his face and then wrote my name on his forehead with a sword I had obtained a few years previous. Another mobster he was associated with showed up and threatened to shoot me before I could kill him. My parents' killer got away. Rather than do what the mob boss said, I killed him with ease. I managed to get away and find the man that killed my parents again. Just like what he did to the poor girl I found, I mutilated his face, chest, and stomach with my sword and killed him in cold blood. Back then, I felt nothing. I had killed my parent's murderer for nothing…"

Robin trailed off. No one spoke for a few seconds. Robin's family and friends gave him sympathetic looks. Anderson cleared his throat.

"Perhaps we should move on…" Robin just nodded before grabbing his water bottle and drinking some of it. "So you became Batman's sidekick Robin, correct?"

Robin set the bottle down before looking up. "Yes, from age ten until fifteen and a half, I helped Batman clean up Gotham's streets as Robin, the Boy Wonder. We had a strange assortment of villains to battle, some human, many metahumans. One night, going after an insane man called The Joker, I was caught in a trap. The Joker preferred to use knives and blades rather than guns, so when he pulled one out, Batman and I thought he was faking us out, so I began to attack him. It was a few seconds too late to realize that the gun was real and that it was full of hot and ready bullets. Batman realized, but I didn't."

Robin stopped again. Anderson subtly urged him to continue. "When the gunshot went off, I didn't expect to feel red hot pain burst through my chest." Lifting himself slightly, Robin pointed to a spot on his chest. "The bullet entered my ribs, just a quarter of an inch from my heart."

Anderson's eyes widened slightly. "The Joker shot you point blank?"

Robin lowered his hand. "Pretty much, yeah. Batman rushed me back to Wayne Manor, where our doctor friend, Dr. Leslie, performed surgery to remove the bullet and heal me up. I was in bed for a few months, to recover. When I felt good enough, I asked Bruce if I could go with him on a mission. That was the day he no longer wanted me to be a hero."

"So he wanted you to quit."

Robin tilted his head forward. "Exactly. I was very unhappy about it, so I left Gotham to become my own person. I no longer wanted to be under his shadow. So I moved to Jump City, California, where I met my new team and who became my very good friends. I became the leader of the Teen Titans and led my own team. It was the most amazing feeling in the world, to feel grown up and able to take on anyone that got in my way. Looking back on that now, I feel like I had become an adult all too soon."

Anderson's eyes narrowed slightly, but one eyebrow raised up. "What do you mean by that?"

With his eyes suddenly very itchy and hurting, Robin pressed his fingers to them after they closed. He then lowered his hands before looking back up again. "This is where my last four years begins. That was the day I met the Devil himself; the Devil who would one day try to rule the world."


	3. Live Interview Part 3

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1

After a long pause, Anderson looked at the camera. "We'll be right back." The program went to commercial. Anderson relaxed in his chair. "We're breaking for a few minutes. How are you feeling now?"

Robin stood up to stretch. He then began to unzip his sweatshirt. "Better. Not thinking of all the people viewing this at home or outside is helping. I'm not nervous anymore."

"That's good."

Robin quickly pulled his arms out of his sweatshirt sleeves and pulled it off. He turned to the audience, looking at Red. "Hey Red, could you come here?" Jumping to his feet, Red maneuvered around the camera cords and then ran up onto the stage. Robin held his jacket out to him when he got there. "Can you hold that for me?" Taking the sweatshirt, Red wrapped it around his waist. "Thanks."

Red smiled warmly at him. "You're doing great babe. You feeling alright?"

Robin nodded. "I'm fine now. The next part will be the hardest, though."

"You'll do fine," Red said before kissing his cheek. "I'll see you again at intermission."

"Okay."

Red turned back around and returned to his seat next to Raven. Robin sat back down and drank more water. Anderson was looking at an iPad, scrolling through Twitter Tweets. After returning to the top of the list, he looked up at Robin.

"We just checked the trending tags on Twitter. Even before we opened the feeds to the Richard Grayson Interview account, people have been tweeting to the hash tag we gave out. RichardRobinGrayson is trending already." Anderson paused. "Would you like to look at some of them? They're all fairly positive."

Robin shook his head. "I'll see them later. They can start appearing on air at least."

Nodding, Anderson sent a message to the monitor techs about the Tweets. He got a quick reply back in his ear piece. "Okay, they'll start putting ten to twenty up every five minutes. And we only have a minute left before the commercials end. So we should sit back down and get ready for round two."

"Got it."

Robin fixed his shirt sleeves and smoothed out his jeans. Anderson got seated properly, looking toward the camera that would be close-up to his face. When there was only five seconds left, the man in Anderson's ear counted down. On televisions, the title screen flew into view again, stayed up for five seconds, and then vanished to reveal most of Anderson's upper body.

"Robin and I welcome you back to the live interview. Before we took a commercial break, Robin was telling us how he left Gotham, New Jersey to live in Jump City, California and form his team. This next section will be slightly graphic, so if anyone feels that their children need to leave the room, do so." After a pause, Anderson looked at Robin and the camera showed them both. "So you arrive at Jump City, founded the Teen Titans, and then what? What happened after the team was ready to take down the villains?"

"Well, we formed after an alien race lost a prisoner and she landed on Earth. The aliens came to take her back. They attacked the city in the process of the search. My friends found me not long after the commotion started. At first I wanted to work alone, but they more or less convinced me to let them help. So we found the prisoner, who is my friend Starfire, eating candy from a store. I tried to talk to her and get the cuffs off, but she didn't understand English at all. In order for her race to learn a new language, some form of bodily contact must be established. In Starfire's case, she had to kiss me. I had freed her wrists before she did it. I was really stunned at the time. When the transfer had completed, she shoved me away and told us to stay away from her. So she took off, leaving us dumbstruck."

"That must have been a fun experience," Anderson said smiling, amused.

Robin chuckled. "It kind of was, yeah. Though I didn't actually feel anything from it. I guess that was my first clue."

"Your first clue to what?"

"That I was actually gay," Robin answered casually, finally coming out to the public. "I mean, I never really thought about it much growing up in Gotham, if I preferred one over the other. I was a hero, so expressing emotional attachment or having a break was a rare occurrence. Whether I was gay or not never crossed my mind those eight long years in Gotham."

There was a pause before Anderson asked his next question. "So after Starfire flew off, what did you do?"

Robin leaned over a bit with his elbow on the arm rest. "Well, my other friends thought I should just leave it alone, except for Raven. She and I decided to help save Starfire and to stop the alien race that had wrongfully imprisoned her. My other two team mates, Changeling and Cyborg, reluctantly followed us. I won't go into full detail on what happened, but we traveled to the alien race's ship and put a stop to them. The ship had landed on a small rock island in the bay of Jump City. So we took them down, saved Starfire, and decided to become a team. Cyborg, who is a mechanical genius, transformed the alien spacecraft into our home, which we call Titans Tower. It's a T-shaped building with high tech security, alarm system, and monitors integrated into the walls. Our sleeping quarters, living room, and kitchen are on the top floor. The large windows give a beautiful view of the city. If a villain or common thug is attacking the city or people, the alarm let's us know. We also each own a yellow, round communicator, that let's us talk to each other from long distances. Cyborg made everything from scratch. He even built our vehicles, called T-mobiles. We drove to LA in the T-car. We also have a T-ship and submarine."

Anderson smiled. "That's impressive."

Robin grinned. "Yeah, it is. Cyborg's like a big brother to me, so he knows just how to cheer you up. Anyway, it took a few months to fix up the spaceship, and we all helped out to make it look nice. We have an evidence lock-up, where we would keep the villains' souvenirs, which mostly included the weapons they used. Almost every weekend, at least at the beginning, we would get a call or the alarm would sound. So we would go out and take care of the problem. We mainly had bank robbers and street thugs to deal with, and it didn't take very long to take them down and put them in jail. This went on for two months before we got our first big case."

"Who did you have to fight?"

"Well it was a jail break, which we later discovered was actually a break-in. There was a monster made entirely of rock and about twenty feet tall called Cinderblock. He managed to break out. My team and I tried to stop him, but he got past us. Cyborg and I actually tried to stop him with one of our signature moves, but we were so tightly packed that our legs caught and we managed to hurt ourselves rather than stop the monster. We got in a heated argument, saying things we shouldn't have, and Cyborg said that he quit and left. I was so angry with myself for fighting over an accident like that, but the rest of the team and I continued fighting any crime that came up. He was gone for a week and two days before finding us again."

"What made Cyborg come back?" Anderson asked.

Robin took a sip of water before continuing. "The Titans and I got a call about a muck monster named Plasmus attacking a chemical plant. He was drinking acid and green sludge, which made him stronger. We fought him for a while and he eventually split apart into ugly children that attacked us individually. We had to split up and fight our own monster. I had taken a route into a section of the factory that carried the brass containers and where the chemicals were concocted. The machines had turned on and I had to fight the sludge monster on a conveyer belt. The two of us almost fell into a giant mixing machine, but Cyborg came to the rescue and grabbed me before I could fall in. We returned to Starfire, Raven, and Changeling, who had succeeded in fighting the rest of Plasmus's children off. We then had to fight Plasmus. So Cyborg and I attempted our signature move again and performed it perfectly. At the end of the night, he told us he managed to imprison Cinderblock.

"At that time, my detective skills kicked in and I wondered why Cinderblock would break into jail and use Plasmus to distract us when he's not that smart. Cyborg had been thinking the exact same thing. We both believed that someone else had made Cinderblock do those things." Robin changed his stance again. "Being who I was, I couldn't just leave the incident between Plasmus and Cinderblock alone, so I had the Titans keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Nothing happened until a few weeks later, when the Titans and I were out for pizza one afternoon. We were attacked by a group of villain teenagers known as The HIVE at the time; they're disbanded now. Anyway, they managed to take us down, but I went missing for a few hours. I had fallen unconscious after I was dropped into a pit created by one of the teens. While I was gone, the trio had attacked my friends at Titans Tower and took it over. It was nearing sundown when I found them off the island. So I concocted a plan to get our home back."

Anderson had his chin in his hand as he had listened, his brow furrowed. "What did you and your friends do?"

"We used the tower against the trio. We had to destroy a lot of the rooms, but we managed to finish them off on the roof. They tried to add more to the building while we were away. When they were about to lose, the smallest of the three took out a communication's device and was about to call someone, but I stopped him before he got the chance." Robin paused, his eyes drooping as he saw the flashback replay in his mind. With a deep breath, he sat up, placing his arms on the arm rests of the chair. He stared down at the floor for a moment before continuing. "That night would be the second worst day of my life, even though I didn't know it." Swallowing, Robin looked up, his brow furrowed lightly. "For a long time I've wished it hadn't happened; that I didn't ask that life altering question. I simply wish every day that I hadn't asked who Slade Wilson was."

Robin stopped again, reverting his gaze from the camera. That name still hurt him, still made him feel pathetic and weak. The name that would now and forever haunt him. It left a very bad taste in his mouth. Everyone was silent as they waited for Robin or Anderson to say something. Anderson sat up straight.

"It still hurts you to think about."

Robin quickly wiped his eyes before looking back up again. "When you have survived four years of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse as I did, it doesn't just go away right when it stops. It stays with you for the rest of your life. You look back and wonder how you could've been so _stupid_. I walked into a well played and laid out trap into darkness and pain. I should've known better than to get caught. Will I ever be able to say his name or think about him without seeing memories? Will I just be able to not feel sick to my stomach when I have the nightmares or see the scars when I look in a mirror? I simply don't know. But what I do know is this…" Robin leaned forward slightly. "My life, from this day forth, will never be the same. I can never ignore the feeling of someone watching me from the shadows. I can't stop looking over my shoulder, fearing the worst, that it could happen all over again, with someone else. Wounds heal, but the scars imprinted on my flesh and my mind will still hurt, no matter what I do. I can't go back in time and not ask who Slade is. And that, in itself, is what kills me the most."

Lowering his head, Robin closed his eyes and sighed. "If I had known the consequences of that day, I would have walked away." Inhaling deeply, Robin sat up straight, drank more water since his mouth had gotten terribly dry, and began again. "The first time I encountered him, the team and I were trying to stop two brothers from destroying Jump City with their powers of thunder and lightning, which was also their names. He was pretending to be someone else. He had manipulated the two brothers to make a fire monster with their powers. While my friends and the two brothers tried to stop it, I fought him for a while. A blast of lightning separated us, but it also managed to hit him. He had been wearing a disguise, which began to fall away, to reveal his masked face. He managed to get away with a smoke trick, but he left something behind. I took the trinket home with us after the monster was destroyed by rain. The Titans and I began to wonder why he was trying to destroy Jump City.

"Long introduction short, I became obsessed in finding out who he was, so I created an alter ego, to try and get closer to him. I became a thief called Red X, to get into the man's inner circle. I thought I was disguised perfectly, but he knew from the beginning what I was doing. So he stole the technology from me and I chased after him, but as Robin. We fought on the lab building's roof after I demanded to tell me what he wanted the items I had stolen for. Of course, I didn't get a straight answer. Everything about the man was an enigma: what he was planning, why he was doing it, and so on. I wasn't as great of a detective as I thought I was. Or maybe he was just ten times better than me back then, I don't know." Robin coughed to clear his throat. "Anyway, one attack went horribly wrong. He managed to knock me all the way across the roof, where I fell off the side. I didn't have much of a grip, so I started falling towards my death.

"The next moment happened so fast. Rather than let me die, he saved me. I was dumbstruck for a moment before asking if he really did save me. All he said was that he wasn't through with me yet, and then threw me back up on the roof, unharmed." There was a pause. Robin suddenly chuckled dryly. "Oh, if only I knew what saving me actually meant then, I would have chosen the sidewalk. I believe that awkward moment is when everything began to change in me. I felt a tiny spark fill me for just a split second." Looking up, Robin looked Anderson straight in the face. "If you remember me saying, I never thought about being gay or not most of my life. Or it was deep in my subconscious, maybe, I'm not really sure. But it definitely was evident that night that I would find out sooner or later."

Anderson blinked in confusion. "What does being saved have to do with your sexual preference?"

Before Robin answered, he rubbed his face with his hands, digging his fingers into his eyes. He then dropped his arms to his knees, looking at Anderson. "Nothing, really. But it was the _way_ he saved me that makes sense."

There was a pause. Suddenly, the realization kicked in.

"He touched you in a way he hadn't before," Anderson said.

Robin nodded his head once. "Bingo. Although the grip on my wrist was firm, it wasn't painful. He just wanted to save me because of events later. I didn't know that at the time, obviously, so I passed it off as something else. Eventually he started taunting me, so that gave me enough strength to finally knock him down. The stolen technology flew out of his utility belt. I pulled him up to take his mask off, to see who he was, but he had been a fake."

"Fake how?"

Robin snorted. "Robots are tacky, but they're useful and effective. Especially when they explode. The only good thing was that he didn't get his filthy hands on the stolen goods that night. Everything else, however, caused everyone grief. I had lied and hidden my plans from my friends, my team. I was their leader and I should have known better than to not tell them what I was doing. Needless to say, my friends lost a lot of trust in me for a really long time. Because I hid my alter persona from them, they justifiably got upset at me. After I apologized to them, I put the Red X suit away in lock up and never thought about it again. But the pain I caused my friends would never go away. I had Cyborg lead the team for a short time. Raven kept a close eye on me, being a telepath and all, while we fought crime. Eventually, their trust in me grew back, but it had been much too late."

"…Then what happened?" Anderson asked.

Robin drank some more water, lifted his leg back on his knee, and then leaned over sideways, resting his elbow on the arm rest. "Although the incident with being Red X passed, my obsession didn't. I'd like to say I was doing all of this stupidity to stop Slade, but I would be lying. At the time, I just thought it was because he was the bad guy and I was the good guy, so it was my duty to stop him. He had targeted _my _city, so I had an obligation to put an end to the terror. Bruce had done it for his city as Batman, so I did it for mine. Unfortunately, I failed it, in one too many ways, which included my downfall. Before his plan could go into full effect, something happened that changed my life. That was the first night a crack appeared in my mold. It would only be a matter of time before more cracks came after it. That was the night I began to lose everything." After an inhale, Robin sighed. "And there was _nothing_ I could do, to stop it."


End file.
